Boy jumped out of window to get mom's keys

Tuesday

An 8-year-old boy broke his leg after apparently jumping from a fifth-floor windown and landing on a second-story roof.

An 8-year-old boy fell out of a fifth-story window that was supposed to be inoperable at Dream Center Peoria.

Dylan McCarty fell just before 5 p.m. Sunday and suffered a broken leg after landing on a second-floor rooftop. He was in fair condition at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center on Monday.

Police said the boy’s 2-year-old brother threw their mother’s keys out of the fifth-story window, and the 8-year-old decided to jump out and get them.

The boys’ mother was in another room at the time, and Dylan said he was going to get the keys. By the time his mother entered the kitchen area, Dylan was gone, said Peoria police spokeswoman Ann Ruggles.

Dylan made his decision to go get the keys and "literally just climbed up and jumped out and fell," said YWCA executive director Pamela Schubach.

Dylan lives on the fifth floor of Dream Center Peoria. The fifth, sixth and seventh floors are apartments for single-parent families operated by the YWCA.

Dream Center Peoria is a faith-based, not-for-profit organization founded by Riverside Community Church and united with area churches, not-for-profit organizations, government, businesses and individuals who share a vision to meet the needs of the Peoria area.

The Dream Center provides programs and services that "empower the dream" of a better life for people in our community, its Web site says.

People on the building’s third floor were overlooking the rooftop where Dylan fell, and after asking him if he was OK, asked him why he jumped.

"Well, they do it in TV," Dylan reportedly said.

Schubach said in reality, she doesn’t think kids realize how badly they can be injured.

"He’s got a broken leg; we’re just glad he wasn’t injured any more," she said.

The window Dylan jumped from did not have a screen, but it was supposed to be inoperable, without a window crank, Schubach said. But the window could be opened with a crank taken from another window, she said.

YWCA personnel were checking all the building’s windows Monday, looking for missing screens or other problems with the windows. Personnel also planned to talk to families about their responsibility to watch their children, Schubach said.

Andy King, Dream Center Peoria executive director, could not be reached for comment.

Dylan probably didn’t just fall out of the window, said Martha Thomas, a YWCA seventh-floor resident.

Thomas said the windows are too high to just jump out — a person would have to climb on something high, like a chair, to be able to exit the window.

Dream Center Peoria is working to replace all the building’s windows, and Schubach said the fifth floor is next on the list to be completed.

Thomas said personnel approved each window in her apartment, but added that the YWCA and Dream Center should not be blamed for the child’s injuries.

"It is not the (YWCA’s) responsibility to watch another grown person’s child," Thomas said.

Cathy Bayer can be reached at (309) 686-3196 or cbayer@pjstar.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.